2016 Annual Stakeholder Report

For

New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference New Zealand Catholic Education Office Six Catholic dioceses in New Zealand 240 Catholic schools in New Zealand Catholic parishes throughout New Zealand Students, prospective students and graduates

2 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Contents Our Vision ...... 5 Our Mission ...... 6 Our Council ...... 7 Our Staff ...... 8 Message from the Director ...... 9 Overview ...... 10 Three Centres within TCI ...... 10 Tertiary Education Qualifications ...... 11 The Nathaniel Centre ...... 14 National Centre for Religious Studies ...... 15 TCI and - Working Together ...... 17 TCI and Caritas Collaboration ...... 18 Engaging with Dioceses ...... 18

3 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand

4 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Our Vision

The Catholic Institute of Aotearoa New Zealand is a centre of excellence for theological education and formation. TCI contributes to an authentic Catholicity through its ongoing “reflection in the light of the Catholic faith upon the growing treasury of human knowledge”. [Ex Corde Ecclesiae 14] Through knowledge, voice and conscience TCI seeks to demonstrate a commitment to human dignity, mutual respect, and the pursuit of truth and service to Church and Society. TCI will  Meet the needs of the contemporary Church  Be widely accessible and culturally relevant  Provide portable national qualifications  Use sound pedagogy, research and scholarship  Operate in accordance with Catholic teaching

5 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Our Mission

6 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Our Council

Mr MALCOLM FARRY (Chair) BDS (Otago), Fellowship New Zealand Dental Association, Companion New Zealand Order of Merit CNZM, Papal award for services to Catholic Education

BISHOP CHARLES DRENNAN BISHOP STEVE LOWE BPhil, MA (1st class hons), BTheol (Otago), Lic. Spiritual Grad Dip. Tchg, MTheol, Theology (Gregorium)

KATRINA BRILL rsj Mr JOHN BUTTERFIELD Tching Cert, GradDipRE, GradDip. Arts (Psych), Retired Dip.Theol, M.RE (Loyola, from: NZ Institute of Chicago) Chartered Accountants, Chartered Association of Certified Accountants

Mr JOHN GALLAHER MARK RICHARDS BCom: Acctg and Info B.Theol (Otago), LIC. Moral Syst(Otago), Associate Theology (Alphonsianum), Chartered Accountant ANZIM, PGDip. HR Mgmt (VUW) Associate NZIM, Member NZ Institute of Directors

Mrs CATHERINE FYFE Mr RICHARD Dip.Bus (Massey) KERR- BELL Māori Representative, BTheol (Otago)

Mrs MAIA WILLIAMS Māori Representative, Principal of St Marcellin School, Whanganui.

7 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Our Staff TCI National

PROF. ANNE TUOHY DR. MAYA BERNARDO Director TCI, Head of Teaching and Research and Development Advisor and Tutor Learning, Head of Theology BSc (De La Salle), MBA (De La Salle), PhD (De La Salle) Dip Tchg (Wgtn), BTheol (SCD), MTh MARINA SCHMITS (SCD), PhD (ACU) PA to the Director / Bursar

Tertiary Education Unit

SUSAN WILSON ANN KING Head of Student & Business Registrar Support MELANIA LUKA-LUI BTheol Hons (Otago), MTheol NCRS Admin / Pasifika Liaison (Otago), PhD Candidate (SCD)

The Nathaniel Centre

DR. JOHN KLEINSMAN SUE BUCKLEY Head of Research & Director Research & Administration BTheol (Otago), MTheol (Otago), MA (Applied) Social Science Research (VUW), PhD Candidate PhD (SCD) (VUW)

NCRS

COLIN MACLEOD ANNE KENNEDY Director and Head of Partnerships Associate Director, Curriculum DipTeach (Otago), BTheol (Otago), BEd (Otago), PGDip.Ed (Otago), Dip. Theol Studies (Otago), TTC BEd (Otago), MEdLead (ACU) (Dunedin), MEd (Otago), LYN SMITH NCRS project coordinator in Auckland, Lecturer, Head of RE BEd Hons (Manchester), Catholic Teachers Cert in Rel Stud (Hopwood Hall, England), Med RE (ACU), Certificate in Leadership (CIT) TCI SITES Auckland Hamilton ANTHONY MURPHY CYNTHIA PIPER Site Coordinator, Lecturer Site Coordinator, Lecturer, Walk by faith Coordinator BTheol (MCD), GradDip Ed (ACU), Dip IT MA Hons (Waikato), BA (Waikato), Dip Kindergarten Teaching (Auckland) MICHAEL BEAUMONT RUMIKO DONALD Auckland Administration Hamilton Administration

Palmerston North Wellington NICK WILSON CATHERINE GIBBS Site Coordinator, Lecturer Site Coordinator, School Liaison, Lecturer, Distance Tutor BEd (VUW), Dip RS/RE (TCI), Cert Cat Studies (WCEC), Cert BEd (Waikato), Dip Tchg (Victoria), Dip Rel Studies, ATCL Duty of Care (ACU) (music), ATCL (Speech/drama) DR. ELIZABETH JULIAN rsm Lecturer, Distance Education Coordinator BA (Massey), BEd (Massey), Dip Tchg. DMin (CTU, Chicago), MEd (Boston College), PGCertEd (Adult Ed)(Massey)

Christchurch Dunedin WENDY CLARK SUSAN HOWARD Site Coordinator Site Coordinator

8 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Message from the Director Tēnā koutou katoa

It has been an eventful 12 months and during this time TCI has seen many changes. While change can be challenging it does signal growth reflecting that we, as an Institute, are continuing to build our capacity to respond to the growing needs of the Church here in Aotearoa New Zealand.

In our commitment to the bishops document The Catholic Education of School-Age Children, TCI has primarily focused on supporting the growth of teacher qualifications in theology, scripture and Religious Education. By working in close collaboration with Education Managers and Vicars for Education in every diocese, we are delighted to report a significant increase in enrolments from teachers working in our Catholic Integrated Schools. Coupled with the rising interest in qualifications from those engaged in Pastoral Ministry, TCI is able to report our highest student numbers to date. There is definitely a growing appreciation that our rich Catholic tradition has much to offer each and every one of us.

We are also encouraged by our growing relationships with critical external stakeholders such as NZQA. TCI has worked closely with the Christian Theology & Ministry Education sector (CTMEs) to register our new qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework. These new qualifications can now be credited toward the Batchelor of Theology at Good Shepherd College.

The Nathaniel Centre has continued its role as a research and advocacy Centre by way of public engagement with a number of contemporary issues including euthanasia and assisted suicide, organ donation and informed consent and assisted reproductive technology. In line with its responsibility to develop educational opportunities in bioethics, staff have responded to various requests from Catholic schools, parishes and other groups.

The National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS) welcomed a new Director and a new part- time appointment into the team this year and the ongoing curriculum development and RE support they offer has generated some great new online resources. The secondment of teachers directly from schools into the development team has certainly been one of the highlights for us, enabling NCRS to tap into the rich gifts and hands-on experience of the talented teachers in our Catholic schools.

As TCI continues to produce highly qualified and well-motivated graduates for the many ministries within our Church, we do so with the support and encouragement of our Bishops and the six dioceses. We hope these relationships will continue to deepen so we can explore fresh ways of proclaiming the Gospel in today’s ever changing and challenging world.

Ngā mihi nui,

Professor Anne Tuohy Director

9 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Overview

This report is to let you, our stakeholders, know what TCI has been doing to enact the Vision of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops and the mandate given to the institute as outlined by our mission statement.

We wish to share our successes with the Catholic people of Aotearoa New Zealand as much has been achieved in the past year. We also want to express our appreciation to those in dioceses and schools who have worked with us so collegially and who share the vision.

Three Centres within TCI

The National The PTE The Nathaniel Centre for

Tertiary Centre Religious Education Studies

Three centres or work units come under the umbrella of TCI:

 The PTE: a tertiary education facility that offers NZQA registered qualifications for teachers, chaplains, people working in pastoral ministry and Catholics who desire to deepen their knowledge of their faith

 The Nathaniel Centre: a research and advocacy centre that promotes the ’s principle of Human Dignity within the field of bioethics

 The National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS): the centre that develops resources and curriculum, supported by research, specifically for the Religious Education programmes in New Zealand Catholic schools and pastoral formation

The collaboration of these units within TCI serves the mission of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand in the fields of education, formation, development, research and advocacy.

10 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Tertiary Education Qualifications

Safeguarding Special Character, Upscaling Capability Under the Integration Act (1975), Catholic Schools are required to nurture and sustain the Catholic Character of its schools. An essential element of this expectation is that teachers are both “willing and able” to teach Religious Education. Accordingly, the New Zealand Bishops Conference (NZCBC) are requiring teachers in both tagged and leadership positions to hold or pursue appropriate qualifications as verifiable means of safeguarding and promoting the Special Catholic Character of our Integrated Schools. This is reflected in the steady increase in enrolments and graduates of TCI qualifications.

Enrolments by Diocese Enrolments2014 and 2015 by Diocese

350 2014 and 2015

300

250

200

150

100

50

0 Auckland Hamilton Palmerston Wellington Dunedin North

Rising Enrolment, Growing Ministry

The national 2014-2015 NCRS survey of Catholic schools was conducted at the request of the New Zealand bishops. This survey followed the publication of the Bishops document The Catholic Education of School-Age Children and provided a solid base line for mapping the Theological and Religious Education qualifications of Principals, DRS’s and teachers in our Catholic schools. Although these results show that we are just at the beginning of realising our goals, TCI has made amazing progress. Our enrolments have increased by over 250% these last 18 months, ensuring we are laying an excellent foundation for future engagement with the Catholic education sector.

11 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand Enrolments by Site to July 2016

This research also indicated there is a growing interest by teachers to gain an RE qualification to enhance their careers in the Catholic education sector. At the request of the bishops TCI is working collaboratively with all the dioceses and their respective managers to achieve this. By using a flexible approach to both course delivery and timetabling there has been a remarkable growth in the number of teachers pursuing TCI qualifications.

GraduatesGraduates by bydiocese diocese and and qualification qualification. 11 10 9 8 Auck 7 Ham 6 PN 5 4 Wgtn 3 2 Chch

1 Dn 0

12 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand New Qualifications, New Opportunities

Over the last five years, NZQA has been directing all private tertiary institutions (PTE’s) to radically reduce the number of similar qualifications offered by individual institutes in their particular sector and rationalise them nationally. In partnership with the Christian and Theology Ministry sector (CTMEs) TCI began working on new qualifications for ministry, leadership, theology and religious education. These new qualifications will be registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and will provide TCI graduates with a highly portable and nationally recognised qualification. Under the new Qualification scheme TCI will be offering the following programs:  NZ Certificate in Christian Studies (Level 5) with strands in o Christian Ministry o Religious Education  NZ Diploma in Christian Studies (Level 6) with strands in o Christian Leadership o Pastoral Ministry o Religious Education o Theological Studies

This is an exciting time for TCI and more particularly for our Catholic schools as it marks the first time Religious Education has been nationally recognised as a distinct qualification discipline in the public academic sector.

New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) letter to Catholic Schools

In the latest letter released by the NZCBC to all Catholic schools Boards of Trustees, the Bishops continue to emphasise that the essential task of Catholic Schools and thus their fundamental mission is:  the Catholic education of our children, which as Pope John Paul II stated “is above all, a question of communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others”. (John Paul II 1979);  to make sure the development of Catholic Character remains the priority and overarching identifier of Catholic schools. This task must shape and direct our Boards of Trustees, our Principals and our Directors of Religious Studies;  to promote and protect the integrity of Catholic education which requires all who are leaders in our Catholic schools to collaborate together. The bishops acknowledge this can be challenging, but the unique autonomous structure of the New Zealand educational system offers Principals and Boards the opportunity to nurture the Catholic identity and enhance the special Catholic character of their school.

13 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand The Nathaniel Centre

The Centre was established in 1999 by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference and became one of the inaugural centres within TCI in 2012. A key focus of The Nathaniel Centre is the production of The Nathaniel Report three times a year. This report explores contemporary ethical and bioethical issues and is distributed to all Catholic parishes and schools as well as to MP’s and many lay people. The Centre also has a visible presence in many dioceses. Drawing on the Catholic Moral Tradition and the Principles of Catholic Social Justice, The Nathaniel Centre prepares resources and delivers seminars on contemporary social and bioethical issues such as euthanasia and abortion. More recently the Centre has participated in a number of colloquia and conferences including ‘Voice for Life’ and ‘Hospice NZ’; Physiotherapy AGM and the Pacific Island Leaders Forum. The Centre is also a frequent contributor to the Wel-com and the New Zealand Catholic.

Other key activities recently undertaken by the Centre are:  Submission to the Health Select Committee Investigation into ending one’s life in NZ  Production and distribution to schools and parishes of a video resource on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide  Other bioethical related activities e.g. professional development for teaching staff; review of MoH report on organ donation; submission to the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology  Regular responses to enquiries on bioethical issues from individuals and school students

The Nathaniel Centre has maintained a high profile in the public debate about euthanasia and assisted suicide in New Zealand, seeking to better inform Catholics and others about the risks and dangers of changing the law. As part of this advocacy, the Centre produced a video and a variety of discussion materials, specifically developed to promote deeper knowledge and clearer understanding can be around this very complex issue. The video viewed on the Nathaniel Centre website at: http://www.nathaniel.org.nz/. The discussion Dr. John Kleinsman, Director and material can be obtained by emailing the Centre Sue Buckley, Researcher and Administrator staff: [email protected].

14 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand

NCRS is the agency of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference Commission for the Church, in charge of the development of courses and publication of resources not only for the Religious Education programme for Catholic Schools but also for Adult and Pastoral Formation for all dioceses. Along with the Nathaniel Centre, NCRS became one of the inaugural units within TCI in 2012.

NCRS is the primary agency of the New Zealand bishops concerned with the ongoing development and support of the Religious Education Curriculum and curriculum resources for Catholic schools at the pre-school, primary and secondary level. In addition to this curriculum work NCRS also develops teacher formation resources and programmes like the Understanding Sexuality programme.

In the desire to make more Catholic resources available to parishes, schools and the public in general, NCRS steadily moved most of its resource distribution to the on-line platform, whilst it continues to develop and publish documents that respond to the growing pastoral needs of parishes and the increasing complexity of delivering religious education in today’s educational context, unique as it is to the New Zealand setting.

NCRS Resources include: Key Online Resources developed by NCRS  The Catechetical Directory for Aotearoa  NCRS www.ncrs.org.nz for parishes and New Zealand ministries  Adult Faith Education (Walk by Faith)  Faith Alive www.faithalive.org.nz for  Religious Education in Catholic Schools primary schools RE  Parish based programmes  Faith Central www.faithcentral.org.nz  Early Childhood Religious Education for secondary schools

In addition to the Religious Education curriculum and school resources, NCRS also develops adult faith education and catechetical programmes for parishes. The familiar Walk by Faith programme has recently undergone substantial review, and has been extremely successful as the starting point of many parishioners faith journey. Walk By Faith is designed to give participants the opportunity to encounter God in their everyday lives, enriching their own faith journey and bringing about a deeper awareness of how God works in the everyday-ness of our lives. It encourages participants to share their faith experiences with others who are also reflecting on their own faith journey.

15 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand NCRS Teacher Qualifications Survey

In the 2014-2015 survey conducted by NCRS we were able to benchmark the current levels of qualifications in theology and Religious Education against the actual percentage of those who have qualifications in this area. We were pleased to show there is a growing interest by teachers and senior leaders to gain an RE qualification to enhance their careers in the Catholic education sector. The following results show there has been a modest increase from the results of the last survey, indicating we are steadily heading in the right direction.

Position Principals DRS’s Senior Manager R.E. Teachers National Average 39.5% 51% 37% 35%

New Resource

NCRS-TCI recently released an exciting new resource called A Prayer Companion. This resource is a testament to the creative skills of Elizabeth Wootton and is intended to support the work of our Catholic Boards of Trustees. A Prayer Companion is composed of 12 sections and offers Catholic BoT’s a range of materials linked to appropriate scriptural reflections; a selection of pick-and-mix prayer options; a dedicated section on Catholic Social Teaching; and a number of special interest prayers to help support the formation of boards as they work to fulfil their governance role in our Catholic Schools. The New NCRS Team

This year we fare-welled Dr Chris Duthie-Jung from NCRS and welcomed Colin MacLeod and Lyn Smith to the NCRS-TCI team. Colin comes to TCI from Kavanagh College, where he worked in variety of roles including DRS and Assistant Principal/ICT coordinator. His involvement in Parishes and Schools makes Colin well suited to taking the work of NCRS into the future.

Anne is based in Dunedin with Colin continuing her Mr Colin MacLeod work on the new Primary digital resource. This has been an extremely complex but rewarding task and as the strands have been rolled out the feedback has been both constructive and positive. Lyn has worked with TCI since its inauguration in 2012 and like Colin has a background as DRS and Assistant Principal Mrs Anne Kennedy This new role will expand Lyn’s present work with schools in Auckland to a new level and with a new focus. She will retain some of her teaching commitments for TCI in the Auckland diocese while also working in collaboration with Colin and Anne on key NCRS projects. Ms Lyn Smith

16 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand TCI and Good Shepherd College - Working Together

TCI and Good Shepherd College collaboratively sponsor an annual Open Lecture, inviting internationally respected theologians to provide fresh insights on the Catholic faith and theology to the greater New Zealand public. These annual lectures are presented in both Wellington and Auckland and cover a range of contemporary topics. This year, film-critic and theologian, Fr Richard Leonard S.J. gave a talk in Auckland and Wellington on the topic “What are we doing on earth for Christ’s sake?”

“It was very positive. My husband is not Catholic, and I do believe that he obtained a broader understanding of the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, I was very happy for the opportunity to learn more about my Catholic Faith.” Auckland attendee

“Great to hear a positive, humorous, erudite talk on the faith. My thanks to TCI for opening it to a wide audience- just what we need” Wellington attendee

New Study Opportunities

TCI has been working hard to structure their new qualifications to fit seamlessly within the Bachelor of Theology offered by Good Shepherd College. In January 2016 TCI signed a formal credit arrangement for their qualifications with Sydney College of Divinity (SCD), the accrediting body for the Good Shepherd College programmes. TCI students who successfully complete TCI’s Certificate of Christian Studies and Diploma of Christian Studies will now be awarded credit for up to one year of the Bachelor of Theology from GSC.

Sharing Research

TCI also holds annual joint professional development seminars with the faculty of Good Shepherd College where teaching staff from both institutions share recent developments in their fields. This year’s seminar was held in Wellington at the National office with staff keeping colleagues up to date presenting recent findings in their discipline.

17 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand TCI and Caritas Collaboration

The New Zealand Bible Society, in collaboration with TCI and Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, has constructed a New Zealand version of The Poverty and Justice Bible. Using material drawn from the NCRS Senior Religious Education Curriculum, Prof. Anne Tuohy and Dr Elizabeth Julian RSM from TCI, Cathy Bi, Lisa Beech and Taneora Ryall from Caritas in partnership with Pa Henare Tate, worked together on developing the study section of this bible for our unique context in Aotearoa New Zealand. The bible was successfully launched by Cardinal on 15th September 2015.

Engaging with Dioceses

While Religious institutions are often considered marginal within the very secular New Zealand culture, the collective impact of the Catholic Church has been well recognised by the government at both a local and national level. As an institute of the New Zealand Catholic Church we work with each diocese through a network of stakeholders within the church. Primarily, there has been a substantial move to increase qualifications in Religious Education for teachers in Catholic schools. This has come about through the partnerships that have developed between TCI and the local diocesan Religious Education offices and is extending to closer collaboration with Pastoral ministry offices.

Through their local outreach programmes the six dioceses have given TCI much encouragement and supported the TCI sites in many ways. Likewise, TCI staff in the dioceses have been actively engaged with the local programmes and initiatives of their dioceses and are always willing to offer themselves as local resource persons.

18 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand

TCI staff travel extensively to bring courses to teachers across the Auckland diocese. Lyn Smith has been our only permanent teacher in Auckland but TCI is in the process of making a new appointment to the teaching faculty in Auckland before the end of 2016. We are grateful to the many qualified part-time lecturers who contribute their time and expertise teaching for TCI. Our administrative support in Auckland keeps the office ticking over, monitoring student progress to ensure they are able to complete their qualifications.

Looking to the future, TCI Auckland has plans to work more systematically by offering courses in four separate districts to enable greater access to courses for teachers. There has also been an increasing awareness from within Church ministries and parishes of the value of TCI qualifications. Auckland has been one of the few dioceses who have taken up TCI’s Certificate of Parish Life, which was designed specifically to help support the education and formation of those running Parish based sacramental and liturgical programmes.

TCI keeps in close contact with the Auckland Catholic Schools Office by attending, when able, the regular CSO meetings. Lyn represents TCI in a number of broader diocesan initiatives; ranging from her active involvement in the Justice & Peace Commission to a number of Auckland Deanery and parish groups. In her capacity as Religious Studies moderator for NZQA, Lyn also keeps TCI in the forefront of key NCES strategies.

Alongside face to face classes, TCI in Hamilton is offering Distance courses with tutorial support to assist students to complete courses. As TCI’s key Hamilton lecturer, Cynthia Piper travels extensively to enable those outside the metropolitan area to access classes, so teachers and parishioners are well supported in gaining their qualification. TCI Hamilton has an excellent relationship with the RE advisors and we are grateful for the teaching support they offer and their willingness to share their expertise. Our part-time administrative support in Hamilton is efficient and organised so the courses and lecturers are always well taken care of.

19 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand TCI is represented by Cynthia in a number of key organisations and outreach programmes in the Hamilton diocese, ranging from the diocese’s Social Justice Commission and the local Poverty Action on Waikato advocacy group to the Church’s national anti-euthanasia alliance. Cynthia has also developed strong mutual relationships with key Iwi and whanau groups sitting as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Waikato Refugee Whanau Reunification Trust and representing both TCI and the Diocese at the hui on Rangiaowhia.

TCI site coordinator in Palmerston North Nick Wilson works in close collaboration with the Diocesan Education Team, and we are particularly grateful for the support of the diocesan Manager for Catholic Education and the Review and Development Advisor. Strategic steps are being undertaken to encourage more enrolments, with Bishop Charles Drennan pledging to finance any teachers who successfully take up TCI papers. Palmerston North is also exploring ways to overcome the challenges of providing geographically divergent groups of teachers and parishioners with the opportunity to engage in TCI papers and so gain those much needed qualifications.

Recently, Nick represented TCI in the development of a MoU with the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) to encourage their Teacher Education students to cross enrol with TCI’s Certificate of Christian Studies. This MoU will likewise open an opportunity for the Hamilton Diocese, particularly with EIT’s branch in Gisborne. A similar MoU is already in place with Massey University and we currently have 15 students who have expressed their interest. Along with the Review and Development Advisor, Nick is also working with principals and BoTs in actioning the recommendations noted in the Catholic Character Reports. On the pastoral level Nick is involved with the Diocesan Pastoral Team supporting the formation aspirations of the new amalgamated parishes.

For the past couple of years, TCI Wellington and the Wellington Religious Education Advisors have been working closely together delivering courses to teachers in Catholic schools within their local cluster groups. This has been a very successful initiative and we are particularly grateful to the Primary RE advisor and TCI lecturers who have done a great deal of behind the scenes work to make this happen. The result has seen a very pleasing increase in the numbers of Catholic school teachers in the archdiocese enrolling in and completing these courses. This is a great step towards lifting the percentage of teacher’s qualifications in

20 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand theology and Religious Education, an aspiration clearly outlined by the Bishops in their publication The Catholic Education of School-Age Children. Teachers who have been part of this initiative have provided tremendously positive feedback and are now well on their way towards gaining a qualification. TCI’s Certificate of Catechetical Studies in Wellington has also proven a very effective and successful means of providing a qualification for teacher trainees and over the last four years this programme has averaged 14 graduates a year.

TCI is well represented by their Wellington staff in archdiocesan initiatives and activities. Over this last year Catherine Gibbs has been involved as a mentor in the Launch-Out Programme; facilitated the Caritas Lenten Reflection programme; and project managed the recent Accent Publications book launch and TCI’s Open lecture with Fr Richard Leonard. Dr Elizabeth Julian is in much demand as a speaker and presenter for a wide range of parish initiatives and archdiocesan activities, ranging from scripture seminars for parishes and special interest/interfaith groups to offering keynote presentations for the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council; Board of Directors; the Directors of the Archdiocese and the Council of Priests.

There has been a shift in staff at the Christchurch Catholic education office as one of their longest standing members, Charles Shaw, has left the team to pursue doctoral studies. However, this has not changed this diocese’s commitment to supporting their teachers in Catholic Schools in study towards theological and religious education qualifications. This commitment is reflected not only in the focus the team from the diocesan education office has on TCI courses, but also in the highly qualified staff Christchurch has teaching these courses across the diocese.

This commitment extends to providing full scholarships to teachers enrolled in qualifications with TCI. In the last 12 months the team at the Catholic Education Office in the Christchurch diocese have put renewed energy into this commitment towards qualifications and we have seen an amazing uptake in TCI papers.

Christchurch’s Catholic education office has put in place a strategic plan to have close to 85% of the teachers in their Catholic Schools with a suitable theological or RE qualification by 2021. The Christchurch team have dedicated a raft of resources and personnel in order to achieve this goal and they continue to develop exciting new pedagogical approaches to creatively engage this increased number of students.

21 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand

Although it is one of our smallest sites, in the last 18 months the Dunedin diocese has become very proactive. Even before the advent of TCI, Dunedin has had a long association with the Certificate of Catechetical Studies. As part of a unique arrangement with Otago University, Sr Jan Ogilvy works in partnership with the University’s College of Education to coordinate the Cat Studies programme, preparing student teachers for key roles in our Catholic schools. The REA team in Dunedin also contribute generously to advancing teacher qualifications and supporting the work of TCI.

In particular, we are grateful to Fr Gerard Aynsley whose energy and enthusiasm for taking TCI papers to all corners of the diocese is becoming legendary. With the administrative support of Susan Howard, this is definitely a diocese that likes to ‘punch above its weight’ as it consistently produces a number of very well qualified graduates in theology and Religious Education that have proven to benefit many of our Catholic schools across Aotearoa New Zealand.

22 |The Catholic Institute Aotearoa New Zealand